Evaluation of AISI 316L stainless steel welded plates in heavy petroleum environment

This work presents the study done on the effect of welding heating cycle on AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel corrosion resistance in a medium containing Brazilian heavy petroleum. AISI 316L stainless steel plates were welded using three levels of welding heat input. Thermal treatments were carried out at two levels of temperatures (200 and 300 degrees C). The period of treatment in all the trials was 30 h. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and analysis of X-rays dispersive energy (EDX) were used to characterize the samples. Weight loss was evaluated to determine the corrosion rate. The results show that welding heating cycle is sufficient to cause susceptibility to corrosion caused by heavy petroleum to the heat affected zone (HAZ) of the AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.